Walton, Discouraged With Clippers, Seems Healthier With Boston

Bill Walton, who says he will always be a Southern Californian at heart, has loaned the rest of his body parts to the Boston Celtics, and the Celtics hope very much that none of them break down anytime soon.

The latest news on that front is good. Walton has not missed a single practice since training camp began. Because of this, Walton is feeling pretty good about himself and the team he is playing for, which is also news.

It hasn’t always been like that. It wasn’t like that last season, for instance, when Walton was a Clipper and the Clippers lost with monotonous regularity.

Although Walton played in a career-high 67 games, he didn’t practice very often, and now we are finding out that that didn’t go down real well with his former employers, even Clipper Coach Don Chaney, whom Walton counts as a close friend.

“Bill had one big problem,” Chaney said. “He would, at times, yell at players on the floor. It came out different than he intended, I’m sure, but no one likes to get embarrassed. Bill embarrassed players, so naturally, hatred developed.”

That’s the way it goes when reviewing Walton and his Clipper days. If he doesn’t get into hot water for not practicing enough, he gets roasted for yelling at his teammates.

Walton, however, is taking to higher ground. Now that he’s a Celtic, he remains unconcerned about all the losing and all the raps, whether real or bad, that he has taken.

“I got upset about a lot of everything,” he said.

Walton played 19 minutes in Thursday night’s exhibition game, a 128-124 Laker victory at the Forum. He scored 13 points and had 3 rebounds and 5 assists.

What has happened since Walton influenced his own trade from the Clippers to the Celtics is something along the lines of the greening of Bill Walton.

He lives across the Charles River from the city of Boston in Cambridge, because he likes the “street scene.” Walton can pedal his bicycle through Harvard Yard, and he actually rides the MTA sometimes.

In Clipper minds, the question often was: Will he ever return? That’s not what Walton thinks about with the Celtics.

“I’ve been getting better physically the last couple of years,” he said. “Just a whole lot better. I’m feeling really good about playing basketball now and having the chance to play in big games.”

Were there a lot of big games with the Clippers?

“Oh, lots,” Walton said sarcastically. “I don’t like losing at all. I just didn’t want to be in a situation where it would keep on happening. I still expect to win. I like it that way.”

Clipper General Manager Carl Scheer said the team played badly last season for many reasons, but he had no complaints about Walton’s performance on the court.

“He always gave 100%,” said Scheer, who admitted that Walton will be much more effective with the Celtics than he would have been had he remained a Clipper.

“They have an array of talent to surround him,” Scheer said. “His general attitude in that kind of situation is going to help him a great deal.”

The Celtics, naturally, are planning big things with their lineup, now that Walton is part of it. Walton should be the first player off the bench, to rest center Robert Parish, although Coach K.C. Jones warned that no one should be surprised if they play together at certain times.

Jones figures to get 48 minutes from some combination of Parish and Walton at center, although Jones also hinted that Kevin McHale might join that lineup to form a too-tall front line. They might not be the fastest, but then again, it might not matter because nobody else could get a rebound.

Even though the Lakers passed on Walton when they had a chance at him this summer, Coach Pat Riley thinks that the Celtics improved themselves a great deal when they swapped Cedric Maxwell to the Clippers for Walton.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt he’ll be a big, big plus for them,” Riley said. “In Bill’s situation before, losing might have taken away some of his spirit. It gets discouraging to lose. But the Celtics won’t lose on a consistent basis.”

More than anything else, that is why Walton feels so good.

“It’s been a very pleasant transition,” he said.

Because of his history of injuries, Walton said he has grown accustomed to questions about how often he practices and realizes there are probably some in Clipperland who are keeping a scorecard, comparing his practice appearances this season with last year’s.

“I have to accept the fact that there will always be people analyzing my health situation, my ability to play and my ability not to play,” he said.

“But a player’s health is an every-day thing,” Walton said. “It’s something some people take for granted. I’ve learned you have to work on it every day.

“I know my body. I know how much I can do, and I do what is necessary to ensure that I can play the games. I’ve had a lot of injuries throughout my career. They certainly happened to me a lot.

“There were times when I could not play every day and there were times when I could only play once a week,” he said. “I’ve come a heck of a long way since then, since I was 28 and I was told I wouldn’t ever play basketball again, not even in the backyard, and wouldn’t ever play again without pain.”

So Walton plays in a green uniform and wears those ugly black shoes, just like the rest of the Celtics, but he also smiles occasionally, and that, too, is news. There weren’t many opportunities for big grins with the Clippers.

“I want to win some championships,” he said. “I want to play basketball and win all the time. And for the first time in a long time, I’m in a position to do that now.”

Laker Notes It seemed that both teams completely forgot that it was still the exhibition season. Thursday night’s game ended with the Celtics down to one coach. There were eight technical fouls called, and both Boston Coach K.C. Jones and his assistant, Jimmy Rodgers, were ejected. Jones left first. He was thrown out in the first half when he received consecutive technical fouls from official Terry Durham. Jones charged Durham after remaining on the court to get his second technical and had to be restrained by assistant coaches Chris Ford and Rodgers. Jones was also ejected the last time the Lakers played the Celtics, Oct. 8 at Hartford, Conn. . . . Rodgers took over for Jones and soon joined him in the locker room. Official Joey Crawford ejected Rodgers after calling two more technicals. . . . Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the Lakers with 22 points, while Kevin McHale had 25 to lead the Celtics. . . . Magic Johnson wore a new pair of white, gold and purple shoes, which he designed. Johnson said they have been approved by the NBA. . . . Laker Coach Pat Riley said he won’t make any decision on the last roster cut until just before the regular season begins. . . . The Lakers and Celtics will play another exhibition game, at 7:30 Saturday in the Forum.